


On the Flip Side

by Pennygirl612



Category: White Collar
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Easter story, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-15 05:17:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18067307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pennygirl612/pseuds/Pennygirl612
Summary: Neal strutted into the office, a hot mochaccino in one hand, a box of beignets for the team in the other.  It was finally Friday and not just any Friday, but the Friday before Easter.  Neal couldn’t keep a huge grin off his face as he wandered about the bullpen area handing out the still warm beignets to his surprised but apparently hungry office mates. It probably would have surprised them to know that Easter was one of his favorite holidays as a kid.





	On the Flip Side

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Team DeKay](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Team+DeKay).



> This story was inspired by the Team DeKay Real Men Wear Pink Campaign. While I thought I was writing A Tall Tail of an Easter Story for Emily, somehow this story took over instead and forced its way into my brain and onto the screen. I have no idea where it came from but I'm glad it demanded my attention. Hope you like it as well.

On the Flip Side

Neal strutted into the office, a hot mochaccino in one hand, a box of beignets for the team in the other. It was finally Friday and not just any Friday, but the Friday before Easter. Neal couldn’t keep a huge grin off his face as he wandered about the bullpen area handing out the still warm beignets to his surprised but apparently hungry office mates. His good mood was infectious to all except one. 

Diana eyed him up with suspicion even as she carefully nibbled on the pastry trying to keep the powder from going all over her dark suit. Of course anyone who had ever had a beignet knew exactly how unlikely that was. It was all Neal could do not to get the sugary substance on himself as the donuts were handed out. Naturally, he had planned ahead wearing a light grey colored suit. Maybe not his best or most flattering look but the white powder was barely noticeable when it landed on his jacket which was a good compromise he thought. 

While attempting to get the powder off one small spot, Diana ended up with a much larger mess. Neal tried his best not to laugh, he really did. When she looked up at him, good naturally glaring, Neal started whistling as he quickly moved on to the next desk. There sat Jones who had no problem openly laughing at his colleague even as he accepted the sweet treat from Neal. 

It probably would have surprised them to know that Easter was one of his favorite holidays as a kid. Ellen had been most resourceful at hiding eggs in the hardest of places for him to find and the rewards he found inside were priceless. Ellen hadn’t bothered with jelly beans, money, little toys or any of the typical items one would expect to find in the plastic eggs. No, Ellen had instead placed little slips of paper, coupons really, for Neal to cash in for such things as art supplies, a trip to a local museum, or even a promise to make his favorite cookies. 

Those things were great, but it was what was written on the flip side that had always meant the most to Neal. It had taken him by surprise the first year. So much so that he had been unable to keep the tears from falling. He remembered looking first up at Ellen who stood holding his wicker Easter basket filled with the colored eggs, a smile planted on her face but the kind that didn’t quite reach her sad eyes. She had nodded in the direction of the back porch where Neal’s mother silently watched them from behind the glass door. For a moment, Neal had dared wish she would join them but knew he had to settle for the fact that she was participating in the only way she could. It may not have been much to another kid, but to Neal the effort spoke volumes; a small victory in and of itself.

When Easter rolled around the following year, Neal had eagerly opened the eggs daring to hope to find those same slips of paper; to find that most precious of all gifts. That second year and every year thereafter, Neal quickly scanned the gift side before returning the slips of paper back into the eggs, flip side left unread. Later when alone in his room, only then would Neal bring his Easter basket to sit in front of him on his bed. 

With trembling hands, Neal would randomly select one egg and only one egg to open. Reading the paper, he let the tears flow freely even as a smile played on his lips. The very next evening, he would perform the same ritual with a new egg. The daily disciple it took for him to keep it at one egg was a constant struggle but it was worth it. Unlike Christmas where he opened all the gifts at once, with Easter Neal was able to spread the joy of discovery over an almost two week period. 

That first year, Neal had turned in the slips to receive his rewards. Later, he found he missed the pieces of paper, feeling as if he lost more than he gained by giving them up. Determined not to lose them again, the following year Neal didn’t initially redeem the coupons. Not until Ellen asked him about them did he reluctantly start turning the slips in only to retrieve them later from the trash can doing his best to clean them off before hiding them away inside a book. He had thought he had been discreet about it but he must not have fooled Ellen. The following year Ellen took the slips from him but every night he found the small piece of paper lying on his pillow weighted down by a single Hershey kiss. 

Reflecting on that time, Neal realized Ellen played a significant role in his developing into a con man having learned from her; having her set the example. And one of her most prolific cons revolved around those scraps of paper. Neal knew that Ellen had always meant for Neal to think it was his mother’s doing, but Neal wasn’t that easily fooled. While he was certain Ellen told her what to write, that didn’t matter to Neal. All that mattered was that the slips were in his mother’s handwriting. Exactly how Ellen had managed to get his mother to focus long enough to write was something Neal had never asked. Knowing the level of depression his mother suffered, Neal only knew it was an impressive feat on both their parts.

Now as he made his way up the stairs to Peter’s office with two remaining beignets in the box, Neal smiled thinking of how he and Mozzie had been up most of the previous night filling plastic Easter eggs with candy and scraps of paper. Glancing at his watch, Neal knew it was likely Mozzie was already on his way with the eggs to Mr. Jeffries’ orphanage where they would be part of an Easter egg hunt set for the following morning. Though he envied Mozzie his time with the kids, Neal looked forward to the day where he was free of the anklet and could see for himself the smiling kids running around in search of hidden treasures.

Thinking of the pieces of paper inside those eggs brought a bitter sweet smile to Neal’s face. Most of them he had written verbatim from those he had received from his own childhood. Some of his favorite ones had been: don’t be afraid to stray off course; never doubt that you are someone special; life’s path isn’t set in stone; and chose not to follow when you already know the way. Yes, maybe they were a bit corny and cheesy. Perhaps even reminiscent of a bad fortune cookie, but they had still meant something to Neal, and he hoped they might just mean something to at least one of the kids at the orphanage. Maybe even make a difference.

Standing in the doorway of Peter’s office silently watching the agent, Neal was reminded of one particular egg and the special note it had held inside. On that slip of paper, he had read: any father would be proud of you. Seeing the crooked smile on Peter’s face as the agent beckoned him inside, Neal thought maybe not his biological father but the one who seemed to have adopted him over the last few years—yeah, Neal could—Neal would make him proud.

**Author's Note:**

> To any of my fans, I may be going WC dark for a while. I made a New Year's resolution to try and write something original. Now that my Team DeKay RMWP obligations have been fulfilled, I'm going to give it a whirl. We'll see if A) I even have an original story idea in me and B) if I can manage to stay away from the WC world and specifically my love for P and E.


End file.
